A Hard Rain
by The Barkeep
Summary: When JJ's life is endangered, Meg runs into some unexpected problems with Drew, and the Pryor family struggles to stay on its feet. R&R, s'il vous plait!
1. Prologue

**A Hard Rain-  
**The Barkeep aka Ducky5

**_Author's Note:_** Hey, kids. It would be me, Ducky, the author of such "greats" as _Where Darkness Fell _and _So Far Away From Home. _Well_,_ I'm embarking on that oh-so-tantalizing looooong story at last. In fact, I already have two chapters done-- that's why you don't have to stop here tonight. This first chapter is my prologue, and basically just sets the scene. I'm sure it seems cliché, but, please, just give it a chance. Not only do we get JJ angst; we get Meg angst, Roxanne angst, Pryor family angst, and Beth angst. It'll be great fun for all. Please. Bear with this first installment. I had to get the ball rolling and I had a really hard time beginning the story. If I get some feedback, I'll love you all forever and give you my first-born child.

**_Disclaimer:_** The recognizable characters aren't mine- although I might wish that I could get my hands on JJ- so, for all intents and purposes, we'll just say that they belong to NBC. I'm just borrowing them for my own entertainment. Taking me to court would definitely not be in your best interest. I'm a teenager, I have nothing other than issues and pocket lint. The plot, etc. are all mine, so I don't want to see it under anyone else's nom deplume. The title of this story is derived from the song "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall," written by Bob Dylan. Some of the lyrics might show up here and there. In addition, the lyrics to "I Saw Her Standing There," were penned by the late, great John Lennon and his fab buddy, Paul McCartney. Ciao!

* * *

_"She was just seventeen! You know what I mean!"_

_Meg Pryor bounced around her room, howling the words of the latest Beatles tune into her hairbrush. It was raining outside, and Meg had nothing better to do on a dreary Sunday afternoon than to avoid her homework with John, Paul, George, and Ringo. Sister Mary Frances' assignment could wait at least until after "Bonanza," and her date with Drew. _

_Downstairs, she could smell dinner beginning to simmer on the stove. Meg's mother, Helen, saw to it that they ate earlier on Sundays. Her father, Jack, was tinkering around in the garage. Nobody actually knew what he was working on, but he did stick to it. Patty, her younger sister, was, of course, doing her homework, while their little brother, Will, was holed up somewhere with a comic book. Beth, her older brother's fiancée was due for dinner anytime. The only person missing was her older brother, JJ. And Meg could only imagine what he could be doing._

_If JJ were here, he would've been yelling at her to turn down the music. He had never been a big Beatles fan. They were "just four hairy guys from England," as far as JJ was concerned. _

_But JJ wasn't here._

_It had been almost a year since JJ had left for Okinawa, and almost nine months since he had gone into Vietnam. No one in the Pryor house had stopped counting the days or holding their breaths since he had been gone. Letters were few and far between, and Meg could count the times that JJ had been able to call home on just one hand. Still, she tried not to think about it much._

_Meg began to twist with a non-existent partner. "How could I dance with another... OOOOOOOOOO! When I saw her standing there?" _

_There was a knock at her door. Rolling her eyes, Meg turned down the record. "What?" _

_"Meg?"_

_"Patty, I'm busy." _

_Meg could hear her sister sigh on the other side of the door. "Meg, Beth's downstairs." _

_"Well, she's staying for dinner isn't she?"_

_"Meg," Patty pressed. _

_Meg reluctantly opened her bedroom door, to save Patty the trouble of barging in. Patty was carefully examining her hands, as if the might leap off her arms at any second. She didn't even look up when Meg opened the door. Considering that, usually, Patty didn't wait for an invitation, Meg knew that something was bothering her sister. _

_"Patty, what's wrong?" Meg asked._

_"It's JJ."_

_"What?" Meg said. Her heart skipped a beat. "What about JJ?" _

_"He's been... wounded, Meg. And Beth says they don't know if he'll..."_

_Without a word, Meg flew down the stairs, Patty still standing in her bedroom. She could hear Beth sobbing, and Will asking questions. Her father's voice was unusually calm. "It'll be okay, Thrill. It'll be okay," he kept saying. He had his arms around her mother, and they were both shaking; Jack with anticipation, Helen with a silent and gripping fear. _

_And suddenly, Meg felt the bottom drop from her world. _


	2. One

**_Author's Note:_** See, two chapters in one night. This one is quite long, so I hope you enjoy it! 

* * *

It had been two hours since Beth had arrived, and it was all anyone could do to keep breathing. Roxanne Bojarski, Meg's best friend, had dropped by unexpectedly, and found herself in the middle of the mess. She felt awkward, being with them, but she thought she might feel worse if she were to leave. After all, she cared about JJ, too. She stared at the family, so quiet and in shock. Usually life at the Pryor's was non-stop chaos and fights over sweaters and television channels. That's why Roxanne spent most of her time there. She felt so unnerved, watching her best friend grapple with the pain of possibly losing her big brother forever. 

The phone rang. Not a single member of the family made a move to answer it. Jack held Helen close, her face buried in his chest. He stared over her sculpted bouffant, focusing on something that no one else could see. _Ring._ Patty sat on the stairs, flinching as the tone pierced the eerie quiet._ Ring. _Will was clinging desperately to his sister._ Ring. _Next to the hall table sat Meg and Beth, JJ's "best girls." They both had the same faraway look in their eyes, although Meg was slightly more successful than Beth at hiding her tears.

Roxanne leaned against the door, taking it all in. The phone rang a fifth time, and she picked up. 

"Hello, Pryor residence," she said with as much casual warmth as she could muster. She seemed to sigh with relief as the caller returned her hello. She gestured toward Meg. "Sure. I think she's available." 

Meg gave Beth's hand a squeeze, standing up. Roxanne handed her the receiver. _Drew_, she mouthed. 

"Hello?" Meg's voice sounded hoarse. 

"Hey, Meg," replied Drew. His voice was bright, and Meg felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. She winced. 

"Hi," she said quietly. Things in the Pryor house were tense enough. She didn't need her parents thinking that she was still seeing Drew. Not now.

She could see Drew's frown, even on the phone. "Hey, what's the matter? Why so gloomy?" 

The room started to flow again around her. Jack led Helen and Beth to the kitchen, muttering something about coffee. Patty took Will into the living room, trying to escape the quiet with the television. Roxanne remained, still standing near the door. It seemed weird to Meg that even at a time like this, things could move with a certain normalcy. She felt numb.

"W-what?" Meg asked. Patty and Will were watching "Bonanza." A gun went off, and Meg braced herself against the wall. 

"What's the matter? You don't sound so good."

Meg bit her lip. "I'm fine." 

Roxanne stared at her feet, fingering the cigarette in her coat pocket. 

"You're lying. You don't sound fine." 

"Maybe," she admitted. "Look, Drew. About tonight, I-" 

He cut her off. "Don't worry about it. The restaurant will still be there tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? I don't know if that's going to work." Tomorrow definitely wouldn't work .

"Meg? Look, this might not be the best time, but you definitely sound like you need someone to talk to. I can't get out of here tonight. I'm swamped. But you think you could swing down my way? I'm worried about you."

"You are?" Meg asked. She tried her best to sound genuinely curious. It wasn't working. Another shot went off in the living room. She could hear Beth's ragged breathing and her father whispering to her mother from the kitchen.

There was a pause. "Please, Meg. Just come on down. I want to see you."

"Okay... yeah."

It didn't seem like such a bad idea. She'd had enough of sitting and wondering for today. She heard a third bang! from the television.

"Yeah?" 

Meg nodded. 

"Meg?" 

She half-giggled self-consciously. "Sorry. I'll be there."

"Good. I'll see you in a few, okay? Be careful." 

"Yes. Bye."

Meg hung up the phone, and Roxanne looked at her expectantly. 

"Well?" 

"Can you give me a ride to Penn?"

Roxanne pulled her mother's keys from her coat pocket. "Not a problem."

*

By the time they were almost to Penn, Meg had decided that it definitely _wasn't_ a good idea.

"He asked me what was wrong," said Meg quietly. "I don't know how to answer that question, Rox." 

Roxanne shrugged. "Where am I parking?"

"We were supposed to go out tonight, but he told me just to meet him near the quad. He said it sounded like I needed to talk." 

"Maybe you do," Roxanne said matter-of-factly, piloting her mother's beast into the student parking lot. "You haven't really had a chance to get any of it out of your system, Meg."

"I know. But I don't want to talk to Drew about this." 

"Well, considering that you won't be doing much together for a while, I think the guy has a right to know." 

Meg nodded. "I just don't know how he'll react."

Roxanne gave her a reassuring smile. "He wanted to know, Meg. All you're doing is giving him what he wants." 

"I know, Rox, but he's so testy about Vietnam. And he doesn't like JJ. I'm not sure how this is going to work. I really don't want to make him mad." 

"Look, if he gets mad, college guy or no college guy, he's not worth your time. Besides, JJ's more important than Drew any day," Roxanne countered. "If you need anything, I'll be in the car."

"Okay."

Roxanne flashed Meg another grin for encouragement as her friend crawled out of the passenger seat. Meg immediately saw Drew, sitting under the lamppost at the bottom of the steps. He was bent over a legal pad, and she could tell that he was deep in thought. He was scribbling furiously. Inwardly, Meg smiled. She loved watching Drew think. He was so passionate about everything. Unfortunately, he was incredibly passionate about his dislike for the conflict in Vietnam. And JJ. He had tried to be supportive, but Meg knew that it was difficult for him. He had constantly tried to convince her that JJ had made a mistake, and that she should tell him so, but to no avail. She took a deep breath as she approached him. 

"Hi." 

Drew looked up at her and gave her a small smile. "Just one sec. I have to finish this for the rally tomorrow." 

Meg bit her lip. Great. Another rally. Just what she needed. She tried not to groan. 

"So, high school," Drew greeted her affectionately, giving her a quick kiss. "Are you all right? You sounded pretty bad on the phone."

"Did I?" 

Drew nodded. "Yep. What's wrong?" 

Meg stared at the top button of his coat. "We got some news from JJ this afternoon." 

"Oh," Drew said. She could tell that he was trying not to say anything to upset her. 

"He's- well, he's not in Vietnam anymore," Meg managed. 

Drew nodded. "That's good news, right?" 

"Not exactly," Meg replied. She felt the familiar ache in the pit of her stomach. Every time she said the words, the more real they seemed. "He's at a military hospital in Japan. His squad was ambushed, or something. And he's... he's not doing well. They don't know if he'll last. "

"Oh, Meg." Reflexively, Drew pulled her close.

She shifted her eyes to her feet, trying to hide her tears. "I don't know what to do. Everything at home is a mess. I don't think we'll be seeing much of each other for a while." 

Drew stared at her. 

"I'm so scared. What if-- what if he doesn't make it, Drew?" Meg pressed. She clung to the collar of Drew's overcoat. "What if--" 

"It was his choice, Meg," he replied plaintively. "He joined the Marines. He's the one who practically volunteered himself into Vietnam. He was selfish to set you up for worry. I'm sorry, but if anything happens to him, it's his own fault." 

Meg let go of Drew's collar. This wa s a surprise. She looked up at him in shock. "What did you say?" 

"I said it's his own fault. Anyone who would fight for a non-existent cause deserves the consequences." 

"He's my brother, Drew." 

"I know, Meg. I'm just saying that--" 

"You don't know what you're talking about. You don't!" Meg insisted. 

Drew looked at her doubtfully. "Look, Meg. I know that you want to believe that we're doing good over there, that your brother was doing good, but it's just not true. Killing innocent people under false pretenses is never good. It's murder. And that's what JJ was doing. I'm just not sure how to make you see that."

Meg's eyes widened. She felt her anger beginning to simmer and her chest begin to tighten. Drew couldn't talk that way about JJ. JJ wasn't a murderer. He didn't deserve to die. 

"I do know what I'm talking about, high school," Drew continued. "I'm out here in the real world. And I want you to be too, Meg. It'll help if you know what's really going on over there."

"You don't! JJ's serving his country. He's risking his life for ungrateful people like you, who talk trash about the war and the government because they're too scared to do anything about it themselves."

Drew shot her a condescending and false look of comfort, as if she were a small child waking from a nightmare. "You know that isn't true. " 

"It is, Drew," Meg said. She was on the brink of hysterics. "The whole time JJ's been gone, you've done nothing but tell me what a mistake he made. You don't do anything but talk, while thousands of _ men_ are over there, dying for freedom." 

"What're you saying?" 

"I'm saying that I think you're a- a coward!" Meg cried. 

She rewarded Drew's stagnant expression with a slap across his face.

"You know, I thought I made the right choice. Deciding to date you," she continued. "But I guess not." 

"I guess not, either. I should've known better than to take a chance on a high school girl," Drew put in, rubbing his cheek. 

Meg felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Roxanne. 

"Yeah. I guess it's hard to date someone who's so obviously out of your league. Come on, Meg," Roxanne said, grabbing Meg's hand. She pulled Meg to the parking lot, leaving Drew alone underneath the lamppost. 


End file.
